Reproducer for phonographs.



H., T. SCOTT & L J. PATTERSON.

REPRODUGER FOR PHONOGE-APHS. APPLICATION FILED JUNE 14 1911.

1,040,030. Patented Oct. 1, 1912.

I 1940mm STATES- PATENT OFFICE HARRY T.-'SCO TT'A1\TD"LEO mrntrrnnsom F LQS'ANGELES, cALIromvIA; siu'n. l, rA'r'rERsoNAssIGnoRmo SAID scocr'r.

-. nnrnonuonir r03 rtioivoenzirns.

To all whom "it may concern:

Be it known that we, HARRY T. ScoT'r and 'Liio J. 'PATrEiesoN, citizens of the United- States, residing' at Los Angele s, in the recordheld with its axis vertical.

county of Los Angeles, State of California, have invented new and useful Improvements in Reproducers for Phonograp'hs of which the following is a specification.

This nvention relates to a reproduc mechanisaradapted particularly foruse in connection with a cylindrical (Edison type) 'In the ordinary type of phonograph the record is held horizontally and the reproducer' engages ithe record sound groove which is approximately in a vertical plane. Our new reproducer ;js adapted for use when supported with-f thelheedle in position to engage with the'fis'ound groove ap- 605,881, and May 27th, 1911, bearing rial No. 629,892; but we may use thisreproducer in connection with any machine which plays a record in;a vertical position.- This being the prime essential-playing the record in a vertical positionthe salient features of our. invention are embodied in the mechanism"which' enables us to hold the stylus; or reproducing point, in engagementwith the sound groove in that position. \Ve have provided a novel form of support,

universal in its nature, for thestylus and we have provided means for holding the stylus in a normal position and for returning it to this normal position when it has been moved-therefrom by the action of the'sound groove. The stylus is allowed movement. in all the directions necessary for following the sound groove accurately. These.

features will be best understood fromconsideration oft-he following specification and the accompanying drawings, in wh1ch: Figure'l is-a side elevation of our 1mproved reproducer. Fig. 2 is a front "'elevation of the same. Fig' 3 1s a plan view.

of the same Fig. 4 is-an enlarged detail section taken on line-4+4: of Fig. 2.1- Fig-2 .s ei-faeation of fitters-Patent. Applicatic" sea June 14,. 1911. Serial "No. 633,127;

:ftlQll. and the height ofthe reproducer on its upper' end a suitable bl the horizontal pivot fornied byscre'w m ma Oct; 1; 1912.

is an enlarged detail-section taken on line 5 -5 of Fig. 2. Fig. 6 is an enlarged section taken on line 6 -6 of Fig. 2. p

In the drawings 5 designates a base of any suitable proportions and size to suit the ma-- 69 chine on which the reproducer is mounted. Mounted upon this base is a pillar. 6, pref that it may beraised or lowered byiro' er-ably screw threaded at 7'into the basegso 'riedah'ove thus'adjusted. Averti 8"passes through the pillar dfarr ifj n c'lg tirgo ther member 9 on which sound box flt) ismo'unted.

Sound box' 10 is mounted on bltickfi at one 7 0 side and is placed with its axis ina'ho'rizontal position so that diaphragmlltherein'is In a substantially vertical plane. The sound box rotates about the axis of verticaltshaft m Fig. 3 to throw the stylus'or reproducihg point into engagement with a record (Shawn at 12 in dotted lines in Fig. 5)."The stand box is of any ordinary constructionfwe 8 and is moved in the direction indicatedjn It have shown one of the general construction now in use on piachinesplaying cylindrical records; its particulars of construction have no bearing on the present invention. -E'xtending'outw ardly and downwardly from block 9 is an arm 13 which carries in its end 86 a pivot screw lprojecting inwardly toward the block (see Fig. 4). A "pivot screw 15 is placedin block 9 directly opposite pivot screw It and these pivot screws'supportla pivot blockf16 between them, the block-turnmg in a vertical plane on the horizontal axis formed by the screws. Pivot hlock' l6 may be,'and is preferably, of some hard material,

say hardened'steel or a jewel. A stylus plate 71 20 is provided of the usual configuration, with the exceptions hereinafter noted," and carries the stylus in the ordinary manner} This stylus plate is providedwit ture which surrounds pivot bloc I it is provided fiwith .piv'ot screw ing with the pivot block and' l arr vertical axis so that thestylu's plate -:I na'y'l have a horizontal imov'e'mentiaro'und the pivot block. The stylus platehasan ejxtenZ sion 22 carrying a' couhter-halanic e wei 23 on-its end so asto balance the-{stylusfpla nd15 and to mentlly hold it inthe center of gravity of the whole' =stylus'= plate tit .sure tending to move the stylus a and extensions is -.preferably immediately side :walls (top or bottom) of t e sound record groove.

On stylus plate 20 -a pair of lugs is placed and these lugs carry a small pivot pin 26 between them, and held vertically, on which the stylus lever 27 is mounted. Stylus lever 27 is connected by member 28' to -diaphragm 11 and carriesst-ylus point 29 on its outer end. This stylus point is adapted to be thrown into engagement with a record 12 by movement of 25. -We mention this move upwardly the whole reproducing mechanism' in the direction indicated in Fig. 3. It= will be seen from Fig. 2 that the stylus lever does not occupy the, full space between lugs 25, so that it is free to, move vertically on the pivot pin 26 to a small extent without moving the stylus plate vertically. The stylus lever is normally gravitated against the lower lug 25 and will normally 'remain in this position unless there is a sharp upward movement of the stylus. In-this case the stylus lever will independently of the stylus plate and W111 consequently move more easily and with greater freedom to follow any vertical variations of the sound groove than if it were tightly placed between lugs eature particularly as wernote that-in alate Patent, No. 991,424, where the. stylus pivot pin 26 is horizontal, a small spring is utilized to hold the stylus lever against one of the lugs 25 and to thereby prevent any looseness and any noise arising, from that looseness. In our construction gravity effects the desired result rather than a spring.

On the end of the stylus plate a pin 30 is placed and a small wire 31 encircles the-pin and ,passes through a lug32 in the rela tively stationary sound box 10.' An enlargement 31* on the end of the wire prevents the stylus plate from moving away from the sound box at this point'while allowing it a certain amount of movement independently of the! sound ,box. "The stylus plate is normally held in the position shown by means of a spring 35 attached at 36 to the stylus plate' and on the opposite side of the 35. is housed within a small tube 37 I and normally pulls the stylus plate in the direction indicated in Fig. 5, thus holding the parts in the position shown in Fig. 6. The pull of'spring 35 'issulficient to cause wire pivotal point pin 30. Spring 31 to be pulled straight upwardly into-the position shown in Fig. 6 and to thereby assist in holding the stylus plate in its correct position as regards rotation on the horizonvertically on its horizontal pivot, at least so far as the action of spring 35 and wire 31 is concerned; for the wire isthen loose and has no tendency to draw the stylus .plate'to its normal middle position. But there is a slight tendency, on account of the arrangement of the center of gravity of the stylus plate below its horizontal pivot, to bring the stylus point back to its normal position as regards vertical movement. Thus, while a record is being reproduced, there is a slight tendency, although sufiicient, to bring the stylus-point to its normal middle position and to arrange the stylus plate on the sound box in its normal position; while,when the record is removed from engagement with the stylus, there is a tendency of some greater degree exerted by spring 35 and the action of wire 31. to bring the stylus plate and stylus back to their normal positions. This arrangement has this advantage; that the stronger positioning force is rendered inactive while a record is beingplayed' and that there is consequently no great tendency for the stylus to bear disproportionately upon either the upper or the lower edge of the sound groove.

As one of the requisites for eflicient action in our device is the relative immovability of the sound box, we may provide means for preventing the vibrations of the diaphragm being transmitted to the box. This is most conveniently done by increasing the inertia of the boxinsome manner, preferably by making the box or some attached parts of considerable weight.

In the sound box we have shown a small brush 40 mounted so as to be thrown into engagement with the, record when the-stylus engages the same. This brush cleans the record fromany accumulated dust and causes a smoother reproduction than otherwise.

'We have described a peculiar form of mechanism for supporting the sound boxso that it can be moved to and from a record held in a vertical position. Although we have found this form and construction very convenient we do not care to l, iit ourselves to this mode of supporting the. sound boxor other relatively stationary parts of thereproducer. What we do wish to cla-i'mgis our general structure for supporting the stylus,

I and specifically for supporting the stylus.

through the stylus plate, upon the sound sound box, said stylus being arranged and moving onthe stylus plate approximately in the horizontal plane passing through the pivotal point of the stylus. plate-on the sound box. v

2. A device of the character described, comprising a: relatively. stationary-sound plate, irrespective. of the method of stylus box having a diaphragm therein, a stylus mounting, that. our mvention resides.

plate pivotally mounted on the sound box 7 to have pivotal movement in horizontal and 75 o Broadly speaking, there is. great utility in the mere mounting of the stylus plate in a 7 vertical plane; so thatiit moves horizontally to and from the iecord. =The pressure or the stylus, pointagainst the record is caused .15 solelyby-the resilient means used to move the stylus plate horizontally. The weight of the stylus plate does not come on the r rd at all; and for this reason its mass m y be greatly increased.- (In the ordinary style of repr'oducer the-stylusv plate is termed a floating weight and is supported by the st lus resting on the record). The efliciency 0 transmission of vibrations from the stylus'to the diaphragm depends largely on the non-participation of, the stylus plate in such'vibrations; in other words, the stylus vertical planes, the center of gravity of the stylus plate being, arranged below the pivotal point of the stylus plate on the sound box, yielding means for holding the stylus plate horizontally away from the sound box, means for limiting the movement of the stylus plate away from the sound box, and a stylus movably mounted on the stylus 'plate' and "proj ecting horizontally therefrom and connected with the diaphragm in the sound box, said stylus being arranged and moving on the stylus plate approximately in the horizontal plane passing through the pivotal point of the stylus plate on the sound box. I v

device of thecharact-er described,

;-thesurface of the record, while the stylus x vibrations canwell be attained'by increasiplate should only move for variations in comprising a relatively stationary sound box having a diaphragm therein,-a pivot block supported on a horizontal axis on the soundbox, saidhorizontal axis extending at right angles to the planeof the vdiaphragm in the sound box, a stylus plate arranged in .a vertical plane adjacent the sound box, pivotwmembers arranged along a vertical axis on the stylus plate and engaging the pivot block to allow the stylus plate a movement relative .to thesound box about-both m should individually, with relation tothe sty- 30.,-lus plate, follow the full variations of the sound groove. Immobility of the stylus \plateTwith reference to the high speed sound I @i -ing'themass of the stylus plate; and our wmethod ofcrelieving'the reoordof the weight of the plate enables us to greatly increase its mass. (This cannot be done in the usual arr'angement on account of the record having to bear the increased" weight. In the usual 40 arrangement of the stylus plate, the stylus plate mass and thepnessure of the stylus on the record are inseparably correlated-it isimpossible to increase one without increas ing the other). In our mechanism the pres sure of the stylus point on the record is typically determined solely by the tension of a spring; this may be varied to suit conditions', while the stylus plate may have sufli-' 'cient mass that its inertia may make it relatively' stationary.

Hawing described our invention, we claim:

1. A device of the character described, comprising a relatively stationary sound box having a diaphragm therein, a stylus plate pivotally mounted on the sound box to have pivotal movement in horizontal and vertical planes, the center of gravity of the stylus plate being arranged below the pivotal point of the stylus plate on the sound box, yielding means for holding the stylus plate horizontally away from the sound box, and a stylus movably mounted on the stylus plate and projecting horizontally therefrom 55 and connected with the diaphragm 1n the a horizontal and a vertical axis, the-stylus plate'b'eing arranged on one side of said pivot block, a weighted extension of the tached to the sound box and to the extension of the stylus plate and tending to rotate the stylus'plate about its vertical axis and to move it away from the sound box, a link loosely engaging with the stylus plate and connected with the sound box and arranged in the horizontal plane determined by the horizontal axis of the stylus plate and adapted to limit the movement of the stylus plate away from the sound box, a stylus lever pivotally mounted on the stylus plate, a stylus carried on oneend of the stylus lever, and connecting means between the other end of the stylus lever and the diaphragm in sound box.

4. In combination a reproducer compris ing a relatively stationary sound box having a diaphragm therein, a pivot block supported on a horizontal axis on the sound box,

. the stylus.

said horizontal axis extending at right angles to the plane of the diaphragm in the sound box, a stylus plate arranged in a verbeing arranged on one side of said pivot block, a weighted extension of the stylus plate extending on the other side of said. pivot block, the arrangement being such that the center of gravity of thestylus plate and its extension falls approximately directly beneath the horizontal pivot of the pivot block on the sound box, a spring attached to the sound boxand to the extension of the stylus plate and tending to rotate the stylus plate about its vertical axis and to move it away from the sound box, a link loosely engaging with the stylus plate and connected with the sound box and arranged in the horizontal plane determined by the horizontal axis of the stylus plate and adapted to limit the movement of the stylus plate away. from the sound box, a stylus lever pivotally mounted on the stylus plate, a stylus carried on one end of the stylus lever, connecting meanstetween the other end of the stylus lewr and the diaphragm in sound box, and a brush mounted on the sound box to engage a sound record when engaged by 5. A device of the character described,

mounted thereon to have movement in both horizontal and vertical lanes, the center of gravity of the stylus plate being below the pivotal support thereof, a stylus mounted on the plate and projecting its point horizontally, yielding means for moving thestylus plate horizontally, and a link extending horizontally between the frame and the stylus plateand loosely connected to both the frame and plate.

6. A device of the character described, comprising a relatively stationary sound box having a vibratory member therein, avertically arranged stylus plate, a universal "vertically arranged stylus plate, a universal pivotpn, which the stylus plate is balanced, the stylus plate normally moving to and from the sound box in a horizontal plane about the pivot, a stylus mounted on the plate to move horizontally thereon, connection between the stylus and the vibratory member, and resilient means moving the stylus plate about the pivotand in a direction away from the sound box.

8. A device of'the character. described, comprising a relatively stationary sound box having a vibratory member therein, a stylus plate mounted on the side of the sound box to have universal movement thereon, the center of gravity of the stylus plate bein below its point of support, a stylus mounte on the stylus plate to move horizontally thereon to and from the sound box, a connection between the stylus and the vibratory member. and resilient means to move the stylus plate horizontally from the sound box.

In witness that we claim the foregoing we have hereunto subscribed our names this 8th day of June 1911.

" HARRY T. SCOTT.

LEO J. PATTERSON.

Witnesses JAMES T. BARKELEW,

ELWOOD H. BARKELEW. 

